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# GRAPHIC: Number of agricultural fatalities has decreased, but industry remains dangerous
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-number-of-agricultural-fatalities-has-decreased-but-industry-remains-dangerous/
- Published: 2023-09-21T12:28:34.000Z
- Updated: 2023-09-21T12:28:34.000Z
- Description: The number of fatal injuries to agricultural workers was close to a 10-year low in 2021, according to federal data.
- Author: Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Data Harvest, National, TP::Explainer, fatalities, niosh, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

In 2021, the agriculture industry saw 133 deaths, one of the lowest totals over the previous decade, according to [data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/fatal-injuries-to-agricultural-workers-in-2021-were-the-second-lowest-in-a-decade.htm?ref=investigatemidwest.org).

But the industry remains one of the most dangerous in America. Across all industries, there were about 3.6 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2021\. For agriculture, the rate was 20, [according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/default.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org), an agency housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 133 deaths in 2021, about a fifth were related to motor vehicles away from public roads — generally, these were farmworkers being transported to or from job sites in rural areas. The Biden administration recently [proposed](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/us-labor-department-proposes-changes-to-h-2a-program-aimed-at-improving-worker-protections/) a rule requiring vehicles taking farmworkers to and from work to have seat belts.

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